


The Wooing of a Southron Lady

by JnjlenSkinjbir



Series: The Wooing of a Southron Lady [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Edd POV, F/M, Post 6x01, onesided Tormund/Brienne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 21:57:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15715869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JnjlenSkinjbir/pseuds/JnjlenSkinjbir
Summary: All Dolorous Edd wanted (and expected) to do that morning was walking around Castleblack, enjoying the winter sun's ray and a well-deserved peace after weeks packed with shenanigans.And then walks in Tormund, talking of  his new found love with a lot of fondness and passion.Maybe the wildlings and the Watchmen shared the will to survive the Winter and the White Walkers, but they definitely didn't share the same logic.





	The Wooing of a Southron Lady

**Author's Note:**

> A little OS I began two years ago, but my PC crashed, taking what I've written with him, and I only find the motivation to redo it a few weeks ago. It takes place after 6x01 and during 6x04 (you know, that scene with the sensual eating of the chicken).  
> Been years since I wrote a fic and English isn't my first language so this might be a little odd...  
> Anyway, enjoy :)

It felt really good to go out for a walk around Castleblack this morning. It was cold, although not excessively cold for this period, and the wind was chilly to be honest. But since it wasn’t blowing much, there was no snowstorm and the sun was timidly shining, this could be described as a good winter day.  
Edd actually felt quite free and relieved. The past weeks had been chaotic. First the wildling invading the fort, then they made peace with them, which lead to tensions inside the fort. Then they went to Hardhome to save some tribe but arrived too late, went back to Castleblack, where Jon Snow was killed by a rebel group of sworn brothers lead by Allison Thorne. The red woman managed to get him back to life and finally, it was only days ago they managed to finally eliminate any tension left between the sworn brothers (mainly by executing publicly Thorne, the orphaned boy and the other rebels).  
Edd could finally breathe some fresh air, stretch his legs and move around without fearing at every corner to be attacked by his own brothers. Edd couldn’t deny that the fort wasn’t free of tension. In spite of the truce, sworn brothers were very wary and aggressive towards the wildlings, and the latter showed the same hate and mistrust in return. Which was normal: they had been enemies for centuries, and a truce couldn’t solve every problem just in a few weeks.  
However, this was barely a problem for Edd. He knew the wildlings weren’t a threat now, because they didn’t seek to have the complete power in Castleblack. Jon was hearing their advices for the fight against the Army of the Dead, providing them with food and protection and always trying to settle any problems between the two groups. Unless one of them was unjustly attacked by the Watchmen, they could all live in a relative harmony.  
Speaking of Wildlings, Edd thought as he saw the redhead bearded one, Tormund (who seemed to be their chief), greeting him with a smile, waving his hand and holding a wineskin in the other. Probably fermented goat milk. He shook it, offering Edd some, but the sworn brother refused with a sign of his head. The wildling shrugged his shoulders and took a sip, still walking in Edd’s direction before stopping all of a sudden, his gaze on the yard.  
Puzzled, Edd looked there too, praying for it to not be some white walker who managed to slip unnoticed in the castle. His hand ghosted over his dagger.  
There was nothing unusual in the yard. Some watchmen and wildlings completing different tasks. Something they could have seen ay other day. Except this time, the lady Sansa and the lady-knight-swornshield-whatever Brienne of Tarth walking in the courtyard and talking.  
Edd released a relieved sigh and reported his attention on the wildling, whose eyes were still glued on the women. 

“An admirer of fine woman, aren’t ya?” said Edd with a grin.  
“Aye”, replied the wildling without even taking his eyes off the duo. “I’ve had me eyes on her since she rode in here, sitting straight, looking like a true queen, a conqueror, her chin up. The way she looked at others… she commanded respect from them… and she’ll have it.”

Edd looked back at the women and remembered how Brienne and Sansa rode in Castleblack the day before. Although they both looked tired, hungry and dirty, it was true that they still held themselves with a certain dignity. Lady-ser-knight Brienne like a chivalrous knight would do, Sansa on the other hand looking very regal, despite wearing only a plain cloak and a simple Northern braid, but without looking arrogant. And it was true, such an image sparked something in the sworn brothers. Everybody stopped what they were doing and just looked at the lass. Even Snow was petrified on his spot (even though it was most likely due to his disbelief to meet his long lost step sister again). Just a blink of her piercing eyes and they went back slowly to work, without a word or a complaint.

« I must reckon she is a sight for sore eyes,” admitted Ed with a half-smile, hoping Snow wouldn’t barge in the middle of the conversation. He doubted he would like Watchmen expressing interest in his sister. Or any man for that matter.  
“Speaking of eyes, have ya seen hers? Have ya already seen such a nice shade of blue? Just like a cloudless summer sky! They even seem to have a gold glow like the sun! Or the Guide Star, when it appears in the plain daylight! ”  
“Didn’t notice. But you kinda have a way with words. Sounds like poetry. You should go and talk to her like that, she would love it.”  
“Eh...Thanks for the advice but I was more thinking of sparring with her.”  
“What?!”

That was something completely unheard of in the Seven Kingdoms Never had he met, or heard of a man who wanted to spar with a woman. True, there were some female fighters, but men generally disdained them, deeming them weaker and thus, undeserving of being a sparring partner.

“Aye, I’d really like to spar with her. From the moment I saw her, I knew she’d be a worthy opponent.”  
“She wouldn’t spar with you!”  
“Why?”

Edd rolled his eyes. To him, it was an evidence. The redhead lass didn’t seem to know how to fight in the first place. Hell, there was no sign of any will to fight in her eyes or her posture! Not physically at least. The girl seemed smart and he had no doubt she’d be able to play the game of thrones good, taking advantage of being underestimated as a young woman to crush her opponents and win.

“Because she wouldn’t want to!”  
“I’m pretty confident I could convince her to. And if she doesn’t want to fight because she’s too strong and I’m not worthy enough of sparring with her, I’d still worship her like the true, glorious warrior goddess she is. I bet she has a very nice body under all these clothes. Small yet firm tits, big thighs, shapely calves, her tight body covered in freckles… ”  
« Try to not speak those words in front of Jon again. You may be his friend, but I don’t think he would spare anyone who speaks of his sister like t...”  
“Wait a minute” cut his interlocutor, furrowing his brow and for the first time since the beginning of their discussion looked straight into Edd’s eyes. “Who are ya talkin’ about?”

Tormund suddenly seemed very confused, though Edd didn’t understand why. To him, it was quite obvious they were talking about the same person. About lady Sansa Bolton, née Stark, the half-sister of the lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, who happened to be the only sister the wildling could know. Unless he had met the youngest sister North of the Wall, which Edd doubted. Besides, Alya, or whatever her name was, was supposedly less beautiful than the redhead.

“Of lady Sansa of course”, he answered. “And you, who are you talking about?”

Tormund’s eyes went wide and a second later he was roaring in laughter.

“Har! Me, fawning over Snows sister? She’s a pretty lass and she doesn’t seem dumb, I’ll give ye that, but I, unlike ye Southerners, have no interest at all in a lady like her. Why in the Hells would ya love a woman who ye make as useless as a bedroll? No, I’m looking for a woman who can defend herself and the ones that are dear to her heart.”

He cast his gaze to the yard, where the two ladies were still talking, letting out a forlorn sigh.

“No. I’m interested in the tall woman with the yellow hair. Besides, her armor really suits her,” Tormund said in a low voice, with admiration. “Gorgeous piece. Makes her shine like silver and gold.”  
“You love The Maid of Tarth?”  
“What a lovely name… You know her?”  
“Uuuh… not personally, but I’ve heard talks about her. They said she murdered her king. And she murdered all the men that the Bolton bastard sent to bring him back lady Sansa.”

Tormund sighed again and his eyes shone even more, which surprised Edd.

“I really need me this woman”, he whispered for himself, leaning over the wooden railing.  
“Are you serious? If she’s called the Maid of Tarth, it’s for a reason! No man has ever succeeded to bed her…”  
“Fools! Why would someone refuse to spend a night with this gorgeous creature sent by the Gods?”

Edd suddenly considered the possibility that he could be dreaming, which would explain why the whole scene made less and less sense. Alas, the wind on his face, the castle and the garrison were all too real and too detailed to just be a dream. Plus, the sight wouldn’t fade whenever he blinked or looked away.

“Well, as you said earlier, she’s not considered beautiful on this Side of the Wall. She would rather be considered ugly. Besides, I heard she doesn’t fancy the company of men.”  
“And would ye spend time with people who call you names and despise ye? No, ye just don’t waste yer time and avoid them as much as possible.” He paused for a moment, frowned and whispered, getting a little closer. “When you said she didn’t fancy the company of men, you meant she preferred women?”

Poor Edd didn’t know what to respond, mainly because he had no idea whatsoever on the question. 

“I don’t know.”  
“Do you think she’s bed the Sansa lass?”  
“What? No! They don’t even seem interested in each other! She’s got the name “maid” because she’s never bed anyone and seems more interested in fulfilling knightly duties and fighting than to bed anyone.”

Tormund grinned from ear to ear.

“D’ya think she would accept to spar with me?”

Edd couldn’t understand the wildling obsession with sparring against Brienne. Mayhaps he was just curious about sparring with a female fighter from the South. After all, wildling women fought as well as men and having already fought against male Northerners, he wanted to gauge the blonde woman’s abilities? Or train her to fight the dead better, making use of every skilled fighter they had?

“Just give her some time to rest from her trip and I don’t see why she would refuse. Maybe it’ll motivate some of the sworn brothers to do some training too.”  
“Great!”

The sworn brother didn’t understand the enthusiasm of the wildling. He’s just fed up with sparring with our men, because they are no match and they still resent him and his people for being wildlings. Which would also explain why he didn’t like their company. Then Edd noticed how Tormund was grinning, like someone who has a plan. Could this be a way for him to seduce the lady knight?  
Usually, Edd didn’t mind other people’s business, especially in matters of the heart. Experience taught him that things could get very complicated and messy in this domain. However, experience had also taught him that telling people they were doing wrong could prevent them from dying or getting badly hurt.

“Well, I don’t know how you woo women North of the Wall, but I don’t think it will work for her.”  
“Why?”  
“I don’t think you can seduce a woman when fighting her.”  
“Because…?”  
“Errrr…”  
“Because they’re not supposed to fight, yeah, I should’ve known,” he groaned with a roll of his eyes. “But if ye like someone, ye should try to get interested and invested in things they are good at or they like. Unless ye only seek to fuck them of course. I’ll spar with her and if she’s good, I’ll tell her she’s a good fighter.”  
“Complimenting her doesn’t seem a bad idea, but that kind of compliment though?”  
“I’ll steal her to make sure she understands the true nature of my feelings.”  
“Stealing her?”  
“Yup.”

So the rumors about wildlings were not entirely wrong. Edd already heard some Northern women being abducted (which was the most adequate word to describe that custom, if it really meant taking a woman and bringing her elsewhere) by wildlings. Did that mean, they were as interested in them as the redhead with the lady knight?

“You can’t steal a woman!”  
“Why? ‘Cause it’s not appropriate?”  
“No! I mean, yes of course!” Hearing the wildling speaking of appropriateness caught him off guard. Until then, he had no idea such a concept existed for the Free Folk. “You could provoke a war between the South and the North “

Tormund shrugged his shoulders.

“Eh, we’re already at war. Doubt that it’ll change much.”  
“Abducting women or men or kids is not a very good thing here you know? Even though you don’t have bad intentions with them.”  
“Abducting?” repeated Tormund, cocking his head to the side.  
“It’s how we call stealing people. So you can’t technically steal women, because they are not just sheep or wine!”  
“Har! Like ye Southerners have a right to speak in that kind of matter! Ye marry off yer lasses to the one who has the most to offer! Look at lady Sansa! Ye don’t treat your women better than goods!”

Touché. Edd had to admit that, for someone who didn’t understand fully the Westerosi culture, he did made a very relevant point.

“But she will most likely cut you in half with that sword if you tried, let alone managed to steal her! She’s taller than you and looks at least as strong!”

Edd expected to see fear, hesitation, anxiety, nervousness on Tormund’s face. Basically, he expected to see any emotion on his interlocutor’s face, except for the current look of admiration on the man’s face. He had a dreamy smile, eyes that seemed to gaze far away, very far away. His cheeks even appeared to be a little redder than usual, yet not the same kind of redness induced by the wind or the cold. The wildling didn’t even think twice before changing his expression. Edd didn’t know how he was supposed to feel, nor what he was supposed to tell or react.

“Then I shall wear the scar with great pride and try to steal her again. But I’m expecting her to put up a hell of fight and make me come back after she beat the shit outta me. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

By the Old Gods and the New, he really is smitten with the giant woman! thought Edd. He didn’t believe in love at first glance; to him it was something that only existed in songs, something only posh little ladies could believe. And he was witnessing currently a man who fell in love at first sight. Usually, men who took such interest so quickly in a woman only wanted to get in her pants; however, it didn’t seem to be the only concern on Tormund’s mind. Or maybe the wildlings got turned on only when facing a woman who could kill them? Edd didn’t know what to think anymore. When was the last time he had been so confused?

“Are you free folk all mad?” asked Edd, utterly dismayed.  
“Nah, y’all Southrons are just too uptight. See ya later! Snow all wants us in the dining room. I hope he has invited the big woman too…”

A part of Dolorous Edd’s mind still refused to believe the wildling was sincere. Maybe he was just playing mind games with him, to test him? What if Jon himself told him to do feign interest in Brienne and purposefully maintain a misunderstanding, to make sure no one in the garrison was too interested in Lady Sansa? However, Jon wasn’t the man to play this kind of games. Concerning Tormund, while Edd didn’t doubt Free Folk were human like the rest of the Westerosis, with the same intelligence, he highly doubted the ginger-haired man was sly enough to try to meld other people’s mind. He said aloud whatever he thought, wherever, whenever to whomever he damn pleased, not giving the slightest dam, about decency and appropriateness.

 

If Edd still had any doubts about Giantsbane’s sincerity, they all vanished during the lunch, as he, Tormund, Lady Sansa, Lady (Ser?) Brienne, her squire and Jon Snow were gathered around the table.  
Ever since the wildling confessed his love for the blonde knight, Edd had paid an extra attention to the way the wildling acted around her. As if following her through the stairs and corridors of Castle Black to spy on her wasn’t enough, he was now giving her dirty looks and wiggling his eyebrows while eating a chicken leg… sensually (it was the first word that came on the sworn brother’s mind to describe what he was seeing. Surely it wasn’t the most adequate adjective since the whole scene was rather disgusting, but, as Edd couldn’t think of another more fitting, “sensually” seemed a decent choice).  
He almost felt sorry for the woman knight as he saw her averting her gaze, maintaining a composed face, but her eyes screaming for help and trying to understand what could possibly pass in the wildling’s head at that moment. The poor girl was so pale and looked so disturbed she barely touched what was left in her plate. The atmosphere was really awkward, and Tormund seemed to be totally oblivious to it. Even though the blonde wasn’t looking at him (she seemed as if she was searching any pretext to not look the man in front of her, as if not seeing him would make him disappear), he still smiled and leaned over the table, causing the female knight to lean away, her discomfort even more visible.  
So he was really serious after all. I don’t know why, they seem a good match together. They could work it out. But I guess if he wants it to be more than just a one-sided story, someone’d better tell him that he can’t woo a lady-knight like Brienne when mimicking the lord’s kiss on a chicken’s leg, plus the noises. Which made Edd’s mind picture what would their lovemaking look like… and he immediately turned his attention back to his plate, even though the mental image cut instantly his appetite.  
Someone really had to teach Tormund how to correctly woo a Southern lady. But I definitely ain’t gonna be this person.

**Author's Note:**

> why Edd's POV? cause he's the OG Tormund/Brienne (Torienne? Brimund? Bears of Tarth? Tarthbane?) shipper. and i wanted some interaction between a brother from the Night's Watch (and Edd is, in the show, the only named one still alive so...) and Tormund, to confront the different views of what is beautiful in a woman and how to court them.  
> I might do a sequel to this. I already have some ideas written (on how Tormund is going to court Brienne) but if you have some, please share them :)


End file.
